Four by four

This week, games night moved to Monday, since Joe was unable to make this Tuesday and for him to miss another GNN meet would be unbearable. As it was, three of the core four arrived at Joe’s house within seconds of each other, for an evening of quality entertainment.

We began with Metro, the recent table-topper of choice. It was Joe’s first game, but someone as game-savvy as him eats rules like these for breakfast, and we were off before we knew it.

Metro is a very confrontational game. Even if you’re trying to keep yourself to yourself, you can’t but help finish other players tracks for them. Inevitably, feathers get ruffled and people turn their thoughts to evil. For such a quaint looking game, it would be dangerous in more sensitive hands. As it was, Joe picked his way through the shrapnel of attack and counter-attack, just edging out Adam at the last minute.

Joe 70
Adam 69
Andrew 49
Sam 38

After this, we returned to the games shelves to decide what to play next. Adam was drawn towards Endeavor. This game, which hasn’t seen the light of day for years (making its first appearance on the blog!), involves exploring and exploiting less civilised areas of the world for personal gain. Joe talked us through the rules again, notwithstanding a giggling fit from Sam which wasn’t helped by Joe explaining what he could do with his bags. Of money, that is. In the game.

The game is faintly immoral, and certainly there’s a slight air of Imperial arrogance since Africa is the smallest area on the map. Joe fought bravely to make sure that Adam didn’t abolish slavery and, indeed, when it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to, Adam picked up some slaves for himself. At least the theme of the game matched Cybil the dog's Victorian-style harumphing whenever she wasn't allowed to go outside.

Pre-Patterson projection maps, I suppose...

Sam, meanwhile, went for shipping in a big way, picking up two lots of goods at once. I was worried at first that no one else was picking up the same buildings that I was, but at the same time I was keeping an eye on other players and trying to second guess them. It seemed to work. Joe totted up the scores on his electronic scoreboard...

Andrew 59
Joe 58
Sam 54
Adam 51

It was nice to get it back to the table again. I enjoyed but maybe because I won, even though I couldn't tell who was winning for most of the game. Sam seemed cool about it, but then liked it more and more as the rest of the evening wore on. By the time we had to leave, he was saying he really enjoyed it!

And then we played Biblios. But no ordinary game of Biblios. One of intrigue, subterfuge, bluffing and luck. Actually, most games of Biblios are like that, but this one ended with a score that will live in the memory for a long time.

Sam 4
Joe 4
Andrew 4
Adam 4

Sam won on the tie-breaker, by having most brown cards, and Joe came second by having most blue cards while I was third due to having most orange cards. What a game. And what a night. Thanks chaps!

Joe returns to the top of the form table. Sam replaces a first, a third and a fourth with another first, third and a fourth. We at GNN Towers salute such symmetry!

						Points
Joe	2	2	1	3	2	10
Sam	1	3	4	2	2	12
Adam	4	4	2	1	1	12
Andrew	3	1	3	4	4	15
Steve	3	3	3	4	3	16
Hannah	3	4	1	4	5	17
Anja	2	5	1	5	5	18
Miles	2	3	5	5	5	20
Lizzy	2	5	5	5	5	22

We could have played Wallenstein

But at the last minute, out of deference to the absent Anja, we decided not to.

But first, to set the scene: Anja and baby Luther were away, giving Steve free reign of the house. Sam and I arrived and promptly played two games of Cube Quest while Steve ate his supper. 1-1.

Then Adam arrived, minus a poorly Hannah. So, with the four of us assembled, the only question was what to play. At first, we veered towards Wallenstein, but without Anja it seemed a bit mean. Instead we went for A Castle For All Seasons: Sam and I were experienced in it, Steve knew about it and Adam was a total newbie. Perfect!

We set up, Sam went through the rules (oh, how we miss Joe!) and we got stuck in. This was the first time that the game was played with the maximum four players, and it becomes quite a different beast. Relying on other players became paramount, and knowing where you were in relation to the starting player was also worth bearing in mind.

In the end, I juggled those aspects better than the others. I played a Master Builder in a round when two players built, and I went for bonuses for unbuilt buildings and money. Sam found himself bereft of resources for most of the game, Steve was awash with resources but strangely reluctant to build anything with them. Adam’s gaming instinct homed in on the better bonuses on the board and he cruised to a comfortable second place.

Andrew 65
Adam 41
Steve 28
Sam 15

Afterwards, Adam said he felt the game was unbalanced, and he searched the rules for clarification on the “unbuilt buildings” bonus, believing it to be too powerful. It was an odd game, though, because very few people played the Trader (or is it Merchant? You know: the guy on the cart), meaning resources weren’t flowing as much as they normally would.

Phone calls to wives, mid game.

After this mind-melting experience, we went for something that we thought was a little lighter: Metro. The recent newcomer to the table is rife with opportunities to sabotage your opponent. Especially if they’ve just won at A Castle For All Seasons. I found myself at the end of some very short railroads, and I was frustrated by the rule that says you can’t send an opponent off the board in one move even if it meant the best possible fate for my stunted network.

Adam was unstoppable and maybe that’s the secret to the game: slip past when no one else notices. Make no enemies, don’t rock the boat and before you know it, you’ve won.

Adam 75
Sam 56
Steve 41
Andrew 36

After this, we fancied something a little lighter. 7 Wonders, perhaps. Or Biblios. No. We went for Condottiere. Perhaps we forgot that this pocket Risk is a heavy game in a light game’s clothing. It is not a late-night closer, and I found myself quite exhausted well before the end of the game. My main problem with it is that I just don’t care who wins. I find myself making half-considered decisions, and not being bothered when I lost. Which I did. Perhaps the best bit is when other people get caught up in battles, and I did enjoy seeing Sam and Steve face off with Steve on 32 points against Sam’s 2.

Adam 5 territories
Sam 3
Steve 2
Andrew 1

An evening of three quite heavy games (apart from Cube Quest at the start). This leaves Adam top of the pile, with Joe still in second after his three week holiday.

						Points
Adam	1	1	2	1	4	9
Joe	3	2	1	1	3	10
Sam	2	2	4	3	1	12
Steve	3	3	3	4	3	16
Hannah	3	4	1	4	5	17
Andrew	4	4	1	4	4	17
Anja	2	5	1	5	5	18
Miles	2	3	5	5	5	20
Lizzy	2	5	5	5	5	22

Brand new, you’re Metro

The first GNN Bristol meet for two weeks, and the first appearance this season of Steve and Anja. Joe and Hannah were away in far off places, so it was the five of us: the two hosts,Sam, Adam and I. After a brief spell of entertaining a laughing baby Luther, Steve took him off to bed while the rest of us began with a little No Thanks.

Sam went for my usual tactic of picking up low cards, while Anja went for the high-risk, high-reward strategy of going for the 30+ cards. And it worked. She got the cards 30-33 and at one point needed two hands to hold her coins. In the end, it was a convincing win.

Anja 10
Sam 31
Adam 33
Andrew42

Next up, with all five players round the table, it was a new game, freshly arrived that day: Metro. The Tsuro-esque train game involves building tracks for each of your trains, with points being earned depending on how long the track is. I found it quite frustrating. I wanted to turn my tiles to get the best outcome for me, but that’s against the rules: each tile has to be a particular way up. Then again, the game does allow for plenty of spoiler tactics as you can divert other trains back to the side of the board.

Sam picked up two big scoring tracks (20+) leaving the rest of us to splutter in his steam and smoke.

Sam 67
Andrew 41
Steve 38
Adam 37
Anja 36

After this saw a rare sighting of Condottiere. This simple yet difficult game of trumps over a map of Italy was new to Anja and Steve, so Sam talked them through the rules. Baffled at first, they soon understood the various cards. Several long-winded battles took place, usually during winter – when cards are mostly only worth one – which was exciting to watch, especially since it meant your opponents were using up all their cards.

Adam was master tactician extra-ordinaire: the game stipulates that three adjacent territories are needed, but he put together four. Anja came second with four territories, Sam next with three and Steve and me last with just two each.

Adam 4 in a row
Anja 4
Sam 3
Andrew 2
Steve2

Finally, what else to play just to round of the evening? Why, Cube Quest of course! Steve and Anja haven’t played it yet, so it was the obvious choice. We split into two teams of two and three, taking turns to flick our tiny hexahedrons of doom into each other. Or, more often, over the top of each other and onto the floor.

We played two non-leaderboard games, and Adam was on the winning side both times. This will go some way to compensate for his making the worse shot of the evening: while trying to position a cube to a more advantageous position, he flicked it so gently that it didn’t move at all.

A lovely evening, complete with Sam and I bringing identical packets of crisps and the hosts laying on the style with bowls of Hula Hoops. Blowing two weeks’ dust off the form table, and we see that Sam has nabbed first place in a very tight contest.

						Points
Sam	3	1	2	1	3	10
Joe	3	2	1	1	3	10
Andrew	4	4	2	2	1	13
Adam	1	4	3	2	5	15
Hannah	3	4	1	4	5	17
Anja	2	5	1	5	5	18
Miles	2	3	5	5	5	20
Lizzy	2	5	5	5	5	22
Steve	4	3	5	5	5	22